Searching for the Buddha’s Climate Change Policy

On May 14, I joined some 130 Buddhist leaders, teachers and scholars representing over 60 major Buddhist schools and ethnicities in Washington D.C. for the first White House U.S. Buddhist Leaders Conference. Of particular interest to conference participants was the subject of climate change. The issue triggered questions for me about what a pan-Buddhist approach to climate change might look like and how the varying degrees of inner-orientation found within the diversity of Buddhist schools might mesh with the public policy world of Washington D.C. Although formalizing a unified political agenda on climate change was not planned and did not emerge, the conference did provide participants with a valuable opportunity to explore the issue through a multifaceted Buddhist lens, share best practices, and begin to explore these questions with each other and White House administration staff.

This White House gathering was the latest in a history of activities by Buddhist groups on the issue of climate change. In 2009, the watershed volume, A Buddhist Response to the Climate Emergency was published. Editors John Stanley, David R. Loy, and Gyurme Dorje brought together over 20 voices from a broad range of Buddhist traditions and geographies to produce a primer for a pan-Buddhist policy response to the climate crisis based on contemplative, integral activism. Stanley and Loy, together with Theravadin teacher Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi would go on to create the Buddhist Declaration on Climate Change that was signed by Buddhist leaders worldwide and presented most recently at the White House conference. Buddhist temples around the world have initiated alternative energy projects and have participated in interfaith projects such as the 2012 Interreligious Dialogue on Climate Change. Online Buddhist climate resources have also been developed through sites such as Ecobuddhism.org and OneEarthSangha.org.

While important mainly for their inreach within the global Buddhist community, these initiatives have so far not demonstrated significant direct political influence on climate science or global carbon emission policy. This is the argument made by scholar Stephanie Kaza in her essay Buddhist Contributions to Climate Response. While a unified framework for thinking about and operationalizing pan-Buddhist political engagement on this issue may need more time to mature, avenues for Buddhist psychological, ethical and social engagement with the climate crisis are clearer. Kaza highlights (1) exposing dualistic thinking, (2) developing Buddhist climate ethics, and (3) building capacity for resilience as particularly valuable Buddhist contributions.

The presentations during the morning session of the White House conference certainly referenced this logic. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi of Buddhist Global Relief analyzed an “ideological cancer” in the minds of people as the root driver of the climate crisis and Zen teacher angel Kyodo Williams of the Center for Transformative Change drew a connection between global climate change and racial justice. She stated, “We have in our hearts the willingness to degrade the planet because we are willing to degrade human beings.”

However, as the presentations progressed, ideas for a Buddhist framework linking inner transformation more overtly with an outward-oriented political agenda began to appear. This was most clearly seen in Bhikkhu Bodhi’s presentation which blended Buddhism and progressive politics. Bodhi began by conceptualizing the climate crisis through the lens of Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths. His thesis pointed to an inversion of values as the “pathology of the whole system” arising because “monetary value – which is originally and by essence of instrumental value – is exalted to the position of ultimate value” while “all other domains of intrinsic life value – natural, human, and spiritual – are colonized, subjugated, and turned into instruments for maximizing monetary value.”

On this basis, he presented a detailed assessment of the crisis including critiques of the current model of industrial agriculture that produces 32% of greenhouse-gas emissions and corporate influence over media and politics that has slowed government responsiveness. He also called for a transition from a growth economy to a steady-state economy that maintains economic well-being without the need for endless growth and consumption. As such, his presentation represented a progressive example of the many possible political conceptualizations that can be drawn from the universe of Buddhist teachings and practices.

While the plurality of possible political expressions complicates efforts to identify a singular pan-Buddhist approach to guide an American Buddhist response to the climate crisis, I would contend that areas of moral consensus can be found. Four prominent ones are the need to (1) address the dysfunction that excessive greed brings to society, (2) reject the exploitation of people and the environment, (3) alleviate poverty and promote the cultivation of well-being, and (4) empower the individual as a protagonist for affecting wider systemic change.

As the political thought of the American Buddhist community continues to mature, these moral threads might be helpful in further clarifying common ground and catalyzing political action. Several U.S. government entities are already discussing moral dimensions of climate change with faith communities. Among them are the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz, and U.S. Special Representative for Religion and Global Affairs Shaun Casey. This first White House U.S. Buddhist Leaders Conference succeeded in starting a process of identifying consensus points and opportunities for further engagement with these government entities. With continued engagement, those gathered will advance a vital dialogue on climate change policy that will unfold in complexity and importance over the next several years.

About State of Formation

State of Formation, founded as an offshoot of the Journal of Interreligious Studies (JIRS), is a program of the Betty Ann Greenbaum Miller Center for Interreligious Learning & Leadership at Hebrew College and Boston University School of Theology.

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Daniel José Camacho is currently a Masters of Divinity student at Duke Divinity School. Originally from Uniondale, New York, Daniel graduated from Calvin College in May 2013 with a B.A. in Philosophy. He is passionate about combining academics, faith, writing, and social justice work. Daniel has worked in multiple Protestant congregations, residence life, as a research assistant at The Colossian Forum, and for the Long Island civil rights non-profit ERASE Racism. His writing has been published in places such as the Perspectives Journal of Reformed Thought, Christian Century, and Religion Dispatches, and his commentary has appeared in the New York Times. Daniel is pursuing ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). He tweets @DanielJCamacho

Ariel Ennis is the Senior Multifaith Educator at the Office of Global Spiritual Life at NYU. He is responsible for NYU's religious literacy workshops, which were awarded the Inaugural Spirituality and Religion in Higher Education Outstanding Spiritual Initiative Award in 2014. He also teaches the Multifaith Service-Learning Course at the NYU Silver School of Social Work and is the creator and host of the Multifaithful Podcast. Ariel is currently enrolled in the Langone Part-Time MBA Program at NYU and graduated from NYU with a BA in Jewish History and Civilization and a minor in Politics in 2012.

Nagothu Naresh Kumar is a graduate student at Central European University, Budapest. His research interests include Religion and Global Politics, Intellectual History and Anthropology of Religion. He is currently involved in a project that maps shared sacred sites across South India.

Nora is a second year Master of Divinity student at the University of Chicago's Divinity School interested in Islamic and Qur'anic Studies, Arabic, ethics, chaplaincy, and interfaith engagement. She hopes to combine academia and scholarly interests with community engagement through her work. She loves walking and biking along Lake Michigan, cooking ethnic foods, and playing a good competitive game of ping pong.

Alim Fakirani is a graduate of McGill University and the Institute of Education – University College of London. An educator and independent researcher, his areas of interest include the study of Canadian pluralism, Multicultural Education, Religious Education, the Philosophy of Education, and Curriculum Assessment. He has taught in a variety of contexts and has worked in the non-profit education sector as a community educator and international education consultant. Alim has worked in Europe, East Africa, and Canada where he recently taught a French curriculum in Montreal before moving to Vancouver where he currently resides. Alim is always interested in the possibilities of creating partnerships with others who share his interests in interfaith dialogue and education.

Tina Walker-Morin, M.S.Ed., M.B.A., is Program Director at the Massachusetts Bible Society with over a decade of experience in both the non-profit and corporate sectors. In her many roles, she excelled in marketing, fundraising, event planning, and personal training. She is currently enrolled at Andover Newton Theological school in the Master's of Divinity program, with an anticipated graduation date of May 2015. Most recently, she also served as a student minister at Brooksby Village in Peabody, MA and First Church in Ipswich, MA. She is also a member in discernment with the Essex Association of the United Church of Christ, through which she is looking to become an ordained minister.

Otto O'Connor is in his final year at Andover Newton Theological School and serves as an Associate Chaplain at the Waysmeet Center at the University of New Hampshire, an interfaith Campus Ministry where all ways meet. He is currently on the path towards ordained ministry in the Unitarian Universalist tradition and is exploring a call to campus ministry. Otto hails originally from Canada, but currently lives in Boston.

Sung Yeon is the Director of Organizing for Interfaith Worker Justice in Chicago, IL. She graduated from McCormick Theological Seminary and is pursuing ordination in the PC(USA). She serves as a Ruling Elder at Edgewater Presbyterian Church, which is also in Chicago.

Jared is a PhD student in Near Eastern and Judaic Studies at Brandeis University. His academic focus is on the history and literature of the ancient Near East, particularly ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible.

E. Neil Gaiser is a dual-degree student pursuing a Master of Divinity specializing in Interreligious Contexts and a Master of Theological Studies at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Ohio Christian University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Leadership and Ministry in May of 2014 and is a member of the Pinnacle Honors Society. He is an active member of the United Methodist Church and is pursuing ordination in the West Ohio Conference. He has been studying comparative religion for over a decade and is interested in pursuing interfaith work professionally. To that end, Neil is currently serving as a committee chairperson for SAIL (Safe Alliance of Interfaith Leaders), a prominent interreligious and non-profit organization located in Columbus Ohio. In his spare time, Neil enjoys travelling with his wife Alvie, playing golf, reading, writing, taking walks and going to the gym when his workload allows him to. He is also the proud owner of three cats!

Originally from the Boston area, David graduated from Merrimack College in 2005 with a B.A. in French. After working in finance for several years, David moved to Israel and volunteered for a combat unit in the I.D.F serving in the Nachal 50 Battalion during Operations Cast Lead and Pillar of Defense. After the army, he worked as a Marketing Analyst for a Tel-Aviv start-up company and obtained an M.A. in Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Outside of work and school, he has been a leader in Ach Gadol (Big Brother), a mentorship program designed to help soldiers who are estranged from their parents. David is excited to enter his second year of studies at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and continue his work in interfaith communities, Israel awareness, and issues concerning the elderly. In his free time, he volunteers with home-bound seniors, and adamantly cheers on Boston sports teams.

Rabbi Nico Socolovsy is Founder of the Shchunya - house for Jewish renaissance in Haifa, Israel - and former manager of a social rights center of Rabbis for Human Rights. He dedicates his Rabbinical work as a community leader and educator to facilitating "values and human beings" connections, in which he believes the divinity is uncovered.
https://twitter.com/nico_soco - https://www.facebook.com/nico.soco.7

Rebecca is a candidate for Unitarian Universalist ministry. She is the Ministerial Intern at All Souls UU Congregation in New London, CT and is a student in the MDiv program at Andover Newton Theological School.

Mark is a Master of Divinity student at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio. His research interests include the ethics of gender and sexual identity as well as both queer and non-violent theology. Mark believes that one of the nicest things that has ever been said about him is that he has a "keen sense of the ridiculous."

Arzina Zaver is a doctoral candidate and lecturer with the Department of Integrated Studies at McGill University. She also works as a religious education teacher in a faith-based setting. Arzina is interested in areas around social media and ethics, teacher identity, teacher neutrality and multicultural education policy.

Ariel Evan Mayse is a doctoral candidate in Jewish Studies at Harvard University, where he is working with Arthur Green and Bernard Septimus. He has been a student of Jewish mysticism for many years, and he teaches Hasidic thought and theology in Jerusalem, where he lives with his wife and son. Ariel’s forthcoming dissertation entitled “Beyond the Letters: The Question of Language in the Teachings of R. Dov Baer of Mezritch” explores the philosophy of language of one of the most important early Hasidic leaders. He is a co-editor of the recent two-volume collection Speaking Torah: Spiritual Teachings From Around the Maggid’s Table (Jewish Lights, 2013) and editor of the forthcoming From the Depth of the Well: An Anthology of Jewish Mysticism (Paulist Press).

Randall is finishing his second Masters degree at Fuller Theological Seminary and considering doctoral work in Human Sexuality. Randall contributes to The Public Queue and The Hillhurst Review, oversees three websites, and is a frequent radio guest on religion and sexuality. He is currently a consultant with the Level Ground Film Festival and The Christian Closet.

Hi friends, I am Santa Poudel, currently studying religion in India at a spiritual center where the matters of religious harmony between the Vedic and Abrahamic religions are taught extensively. I am planning a PhD in Comparative Religion either in the US or Canada in 2014.

Esther Boyd is the Editorial Director for State of Formation, as well as the Manager for Curriculum Development at Interfaith Youth Core. She is a humanist chaplain interested in American religious identity, storytelling, and identity formation. While in graduate school, she founded Yale Divinity School’s interfaith student cooperative, Open Party, sparking her deep interest in interreligious education. Esther is also an editor for the Humanist Chaplaincy thinkblog Applied Sentience.

Wendy received a Masters of Arts in Religion from Yale Divinity School where her studies were focused on interbelief dialogue and cooperation. She recently completed a year with Pathfinders Project—a humanist, international service trip sponsored by Foundation Beyond Belief. Currently she is the Volunteer Committee Coordinator with Yale Humanist Community. In addition to State of Formation her writing can be found at NonProphet Status, Applied Sentience, and her blog, The Interbelief Blog.

Daniel Rodriguez Schlorff works as a chaplain for a hospice in Connecticut and currently pursues the Doctor of Ministry and Certificate of Sexuality and Religion from Pacific School of Religion. He completed his prior coursework at Hartford Seminary, Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Olivet Nazarene University. Schlorff taught world religions at Carthage College and developed the LGBT Studies program for the University of Wisconsin—Parkside. He is in care with the United Church of Christ, is a brother of the Order of St. Luke, and sings for a professional choir.

Joe is a doctoral candidate in Emory University's Graduate Division of Religion. His research and teaching focuses on religion, conflict and peace, religious and comparative ethics, and religion and society. You can see some of his work on emory.academia.edu/JoeWiinikkaLydon.

Rev. Chris Turner has a BA in Environmental Studies and Economics from SUNY Purchase and an MA in Sustainable Business and Communities from Goddard College. Chris was ordained as an Interspiritual Minister by One Spirit Interfaith Seminary in 2013.

James is a researcher and senior writer at the Pontifical Mission Societies. His research interests include lived religion, inter-religious education, socio-emotional learning and formation in Catholic Secondary Schools. James is currently a Ph.D student at Fordham University's Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education.

I am a Muslim who was doing a masters in Christian Theology at a Christian Seminary (Luther Seminary) in St Paul until my father passed away Now I am trying to make sense of the world after the loss. I have doctorate in Computer Science, that was one labor of love and this is another. For me the theology of Islam can be summed up by the two sayings of Ali, cousin of Prophet Muhammad, pbuh. The rest, as a Jewish sage once said, is commentary: (1) Every human being is either your brother in faith or your brother in Humanity. (2) Be like the flower that gives its scent even to the hand that crushes it.

Jaime Myers holds a B.A. from Fordham University in Philosophy and Religious Studies. She is currently pursuing her M.A. at Union Theological Seminary in NYC. Her interests include comparative religion, in particular looking at Dharmic religions v.s Judeo-Christian faiths, mysticism, and the role that doubt and skepticism play in different religious traditions.

Susan Butterworth has BA degrees in French and Political Science from Tufts University and a MA in English from Salem State University. She is a visiting lecturer in English composition and literature at Salem State University and a professional nonfiction writer. She has just completed her first year in the MDiv program at Episcopal Divinity School. Susan is fascinated by the intersection of literature and theology studies and is working on a special competency in Anglican, Global, Ecumenical and Interfaith Studies at Episcopal Divinity School.

Michael Casey W. Woolf is a progressive candidate for ordination in the American Baptist Churches USA and a third-year Master of Divinity student and Ministry Fellow at Harvard Divinity School. He currently serves as the Associate Pastor for Youth and Children at First Baptist Church of Lexington, MA.

Rhee-Soo is currently a Master of Divinity candidate at Harvard Divinity School, focusing on Christianity. She is a recent graduate of Wesleyan University, and prior to attending HDS, she completed a year-long fellowship with the Episcopal Service Corps in Boston.

Joseph is a professor, Quaker, husband, and friend. He teaches anthropology and humanities courses for a liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. He commutes by bike, plays guitar, and enjoys fine Scotch, wines, and foods with his wife.

Current projects include: Workshop seminars on the intersection of Christian Theology and Western Pop-Culture; Collaborative immersion projects for students within religious communities divergent to their own.

Jessie Post is a Masters candidate at Harvard Divinity School and Programming Assistant at Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries in Newton, MA. Her interests include the interfaith movement, faith-based community activism, religion in popular culture, and the place of those outside organized faith traditions in contemporary American spiritual life. Jessie graduated from Haverford College in 2009 with a BA in Religion.

I am a PhD candidate at the University of St. Michael's College, Faculty of Theology in the Toronto School of Theology. In addition to my current research in Christian Peace Theology and the Theology of Religions I teach, participate in and organize Interfaith dialogue events. I have an MDiv and a ThM in New Testament and have found leading Scriptural Reasoning groups a meaningful way of connecting with people, building community, and learning about how scripture shapes lives and gives meaning to people. I have served in different capacities as a pastor, chaplain and a cultural exchange program coordinator. Some of my writing includes "Interfaith friendship as a Bridge to Peace" in *Windows to World's Religions* (ed. Arvind Sharma), articles for the *Common Ground News* and I am one of the editor's and contributor's to the book *On Spirituality: Essays from the Third Shii Muslim Mennonite Christian Dialogue*.

Enver was born in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan and studied in Kiev, Ukraine before moving to the United States. He is completing his studies at the Graduate Theological Union and the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University in Berkeley, and working for Maitri Compassionate Care, a residential hospice and respite care facility for people living with AIDS in San Francisco.
Enver believes that the wisdom of peace and compassion is truly universal and it has no borders but only different languages and interpretations. He is inspired by the Dalai Lama’s ethics beyond religion and his call for education of the heart by bringing the indispensability of inner values of love, compassion, justice, and forgiveness into education.

Charlotte is an interfaith activist and self-confessed Religious Studies geek currently undertaking a Masters at SOAS, University of London. Charlotte’s interests include religious diversity, pluralism, multiculturalism, Quakerism, equality and blogging: all fueled by oolong tea. @CharlotteDando

Graduate of Morehouse College with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Currently studying Inter-religious studies at Claremont Lincoln University/ Claremont School of Theology. Interested in Christian mysticism, philosophy, political science, pluralism, pop-culture and post-colonialism.

Aaron Stauffer is a third year MDiv student at Union Theological Seminary in NYC with a focus in Ethics. Passionate about developing communities and building power in civic society, Aaron worked as an IAF organizer through the Young Adult Volunteer of the PC(USA) program in 2010-2011, is currently doing his Field Education with the Poverty Initiative at Union, while remaining active with the Student Christian Movement NYC. He finds himself continually drawn to local, organized responses to deep economic, political disenfranchisement and oppression. He blogs regularly at aaronkstauffer.tumblr.com

Nicole Edine is a recent graduate from New York University with a Masters in Religious Studies. Her academic interests include South Asian religions in diaspora, American religion and identity, and sacred spaces and objects.

Jason is a Harvard Law graduate and a PhD candidate in Church-State Studies at the Dawson Institute at Baylor University. He is currently working on his dissertation about a Christian theology of church-state separation, and enjoys blogging about religion, politics, and questions of religious liberty.

Alasdair Ekpenyong is an undergraduate student at Brigham Young University and a full-time lover of letters. He wishes, at times, that he was John Henry Cardinal Newman. Or James Joyce, or John Cheever, or Jane Jacobs--but in the time that stands between being and becoming, he is very content to remain himself.

Andrew Twiton is a recent graduate of Luther Seminary. He is a candidate for ordained ministry in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America awaiting his first call in the South-Central Synod of Wisconsin.

Hilary J. Scarsella is a life-long Mennonite with a deep love for learning about and from other faiths. She did her undergraduate work at Indiana University in religious studies, philosophy, and the Arabic language before obtaining a Master of Divinity from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in theology, ethics, and peace studies. Hilary developed a passion for international solidarity work as a reservist with Christian Peacemaker Teams in northern Iraq, and her work in the U.S. has been deeply influenced by walking with women striving to heal from abuse and sexual violence. Currently, Hilary is Associate for Transformative Peacemaking & Communications with Mennonite Church USA and looking toward Ph.D work. Living in northern Indiana as a member of the Prairie Wolf Collective, she enjoys spunk and laughter and creativity gone wild.

Caitlin Michelle Desjardins is a 3rd Year M.Div Student at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Her academic interests include Children's Spirituality, Death and Grief, Food Justice/Agrarian Issues, intersections of Literature and Theology, Contemplative Spirituality and Sexual Ethics. After spending a summer with the Sisters of Grandchamp, an ecumenical community of Sisters in Switzerland, she has a burgeoning interest in monastic expressions of faith. She also enjoys exploring the history and practices of Buddhism. Caitlin is a classical harpist, teaches gardening and writing in local elementary schools, and can often be found drawing with chalk or in the children's section of the library. Caitlin was a 2011 Fund For Theological Education Ministry Fellow and she drinks copious amounts of tea. You can contact her via e-mail (caitlin.desjardins@gmail.com).

Daniel Hall is Director of Peace and Community Relations (West Territory) for the Soka Gakkai International-USA Buddhist Association where he directs awareness raising initiatives centered on the U.N. Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, nuclear disarmament, sustainable development, and human rights education. Mr. Hall received a Master of Public Diplomacy from the University of Southern California. He has published book chapters and articles on Buddhism, engaged religious communities and faith diplomacy. In 2013, Palgrave Macmillan published his article titled "Pope John Paul II, Radio Free Europe and Faith Diplomacy" as part of a new volume on religion and public diplomacy.

Victoria is a student at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg, and a candidate for ordination in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Her sermons, vocational reflections, and occasional harassed anecdotes about her German Shepherd mix can be read at lutheranmoxie.wordpress.com.

Margaret Ellsworth is an MA student at Claremont School of Theology, studying worship, spirituality, and the arts. Her passion is telling stories of redemption—both inside the church, through creative, interactive worship, and outside the church, through literature and music. Margaret is an Episcopalian with a deep love for the Lutheran tradition, married to a Buddhist. She tweets @ResoluteMag and blogs at scribbleoutloud.blogspot.com.

Ahmed Elewa is a graduate student at the Islamic American University where he is researching "responsibility" in Shariah and Islamic Jurisprudence. He is also a doctoral candidate at the University of Massachusetts Medical School where he studies early embryo development. Upon receiving his Masters Degree in Biomedical Sciences in 2007, Ahmed spent two years working as a community organizer and interfaith coordinator in Boston before moving to Egypt to pursue advanced religious studies. He is currently enrolled in the College of Shariah and Law at al-Azhar University. In 2010 Ahmed published his first novel in Arabic (alRawda) which highlights the paradoxes inherent in biculturalism. A year later he published a memoir, "Ground Zero Mosque: The confessions of a Western-Middle-Eastern Muslim" to narrate his personal encounter with these paradoxes. Using State of Formation as a medium, Ahmed continues to develop his thoughts on personal and social multiculturalism and how religion, science and history interact within individuals and societies. Follow him on twitter @albostoni.

Guruamrit Khalsa is an MA candidate at American University's School of International Service studying U.S. foreign policy and South Asia. She has studied the Arabic and Urdu languages, and was a former intern with the Middle East Institute in Washington.

I am a graduate of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School and am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Vanderbilt's Community Research & Action program. My research and writing interests include interfaith relations, faith–based community development, congregational studies, and religion & politics.

Andrew Bowen, once a fervent enemy of religion, is now a perpetual student and champion for inter-religious peace and reconciliation. In 2011, Andrew created Project Conversion, a year-long personal immersion into the culture, practices, beliefs, and rituals of 12 belief systems from around the world as a personal intervention after years of animosity toward faith.

Bridget is an independent earth spiritualist, a humanist-feminist pursuing integration, connection, and community. Her current intellectual interests are alternative social structures, performative cultural theories, and empowering educational practices.

Madison McClendon grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, where he fell in love with the works of J.R.R. Tolkien at a young age. Growing up, he attended First Baptist Church in Greenville, South Carolina, and continues to find his religious home in the Alliance of Baptists and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, though his Chicago context is encouraging him to make connections with the American Baptist Churches. He graduated magna cum laude from Furman University with a degree in Religion and Political Science in 2009, and continued his education by pursuing a Master of Divinity Degree at the University of Chicago. At the University of Chicago, Madison was a Schloerb Fellow and a Fund for Theological Education Congregational Fellow, and he graduated in 2012. Madison pursued academic work in religion and literature, specifically examining how fantasy texts and religious texts might illuminate each other. In addition to these studies, Madison also took classes on preaching and pastoral arts, and is interested in how the fruits of the academy can be applied carefully to the building of productive, healthy religious communities.

Rebecca is currently a Master's student in Historical and Systematic Theology at the Catholic University of America and works as the Youth Director at the Interfaith Families Project and as the Graduate Student Assistant at the Institute for Interreligious Study and Dialogue. As a Roman Catholic, Rebecca hopes to work for the improvement of interreligious relations from within the Catholic Church, with a particular concern for Jewish-Catholic relations.

Trey Palmisano was a 2012 participant in the State of Formation National Seminar on Narrative & Interreligious Cooperation. He holds a B.S. in English with a concentration in Writing from Towson University and an M.A. in Theology with a concentration in Systematic Theology from the Ecumenical Institute of Theology at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, MD. He received the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theological Studies in 2012. His M.A. thesis work defended a methodological approach in the ethics of Dietrich Bonhoeffer with particular attention to the concepts of peace and violence. He is a member of the International Dietrich Bonhoeffer Society, the Society for Buddhist-Christian Studies, and the Evangelical Theological Society. A writer by trade, his work has appeared in such diverse publications as the Anglican Theological Review, Sojourners, The Baltimore Sun, and he served for a period of time as a faith columnist for the Baltimore Examiner. His past experience as an educator includes Carver Center for the Arts & Technology, a secondary education magnet school in Towson, MD, where he taught poetics and world literature, and Towson University, where he worked as an adjunct professor of English. He has worked as a curriculum developer creating original lessons and testing material for major educational publishers. He currently works as a process and procedures analyst in the Baltimore-Washington area. Trey is currently pursuing a second M.A. in Jewish Studies at Towson University, and his forthcoming book based on his thesis work is scheduled to be published through Wipf & Stock in 2013.

Tiffany Puett is a PhD candidate at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on religious diversity and multiculturalism in North America, the ongoing construction of ‘religion’ in a liberal democratic society and the politics embedded in these processes. She’s especially interested in the intersections of religion with education, citizenship, and religious freedom.

The DivInnovations series represents an exciting new collaboration that State of Formation and the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue are embarking upon in an effort to capture dynamic research, initiatives, partnerships, and projects (particularly interfaith in nature) at seminaries, divinity schools, and graduate theological settings in general across the nation. We will be posting profiles of institutions both on the State of Formation blog through this account and in each issue of the Journal. We invite you to be in touch about nominating your institution for a profile by emailing our JIRD liaison and profile developer, Sophia Khan.

Rabbi Michael Ramberg graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College this June. Much to his surprise, as the son of intermarried (but mainly secular) parents active in the Civil Rights movement, Michael has found in the rabbinate his own way to carry on his parents’ important legacy. For him the most compelling venue in which to pursue this work of repairing the world is through interfaith coalitions, not only because Jews need partners in order to bring about real changes, but also because interfaith relationships are so nourishing for him.

Michael’s focus is standing up for the rights of immigrants, which he does primarily as a volunteer with the New Sanctuary Movement and with his synagogue, Mishkan Shalom, in Philadelphia, PA. In addition to his rabbinic role as community organizer and activist, Michael relishes his responsibilities working with people to sanctify life transitions.

In his Jewish practice Michael is invigorated both by reconstructing the Jewish tradition to fit the evolving needs of people today and by immersing himself in prayer and the study of sacred texts.

Michael’s partner just completed her PhD in Education and they have committed to equally sharing the care of their two year old daughter. Michael sometimes thinks that the profound love his daughter has inspired in him gives him at least a glimmer of understanding of the love the divine has for humanity.

I'm currently a Masters of Theological Studies student at Harvard Divinity School concentrating in women, gender sexuality and religion, specializing in Islamic Studies and graduated from Wellesley College. I enjoy traveling to warm climates, long dinners with friends and riding my bike through Cambridge and Boston.

Arielle Rosenberg is a fourth year rabbinical student at Hebrew College in Boston. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, Arielle spent the last decade working as an organizer with migrant and indigenous communities in Honduras and Seattle, Washington.

Program coordinator and consultant for Christian-Muslim relations with Peace Catalyst International. Campus minister at Virginia Commonwealth University with the Virginia Baptists. Doctor of Ministry student in Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. www.nathanfelmore.com.

Practical Matters is a graduate-student run, transdisciplinary, multimedia journal, sponsored and supported at Emory University, that seeks to ask and provoke new questions about religious practices and practical theology. Founded in 2007, Practical Matters publishes peer-reviewed scholarship in several different media types and genres, reflections and essays by practitioners and teachers, video and audio interviews with scholars, reviews of current work in religious practices and practical theology, musical performances, photographic essays, and more.

Claremont Journal of Religion (CJR) is a student led, peer-reviewed, online journal that focuses on the ways "religion" can be understood in the contemporary world. CJR is in relationship with the recently established Claremont Lincoln University, Claremont School of Theology, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont University Consortium, and The Society for Philosophy and Religion at Claremont (SPARC). The goal of this journal is to provide a forum for emerging scholars, academics, graduate students, and lay-leaders to publish their latest work in the broad field of "religious studies."

Chris Hughes is a graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity and is an aspiring writer, preacher and minister. He currently serves as Interim Director of Youth at Highland Presbyterian Church in Winston-Salem, NC.

Jessica Joslin is a Ph.D. student studying Higher Education at the University of Michigan. Jess is also in the ordination process in the United Church of Christ and has a Masters of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School.

I love to learn new things, which means often finding out that what I thought was the case actually needs to be revised. I am still finding out new things about the world and myself, so please feel free to help me on my journey!

Funlayo is an initiated Ifa-Orisa priestess dedicated to contributing her voice as a scholar-practitioner and advocate of her tradition. She is PhD candidate in African Studies and Religion at Harvard University, where her focus is African Indigenous and African Diasporic Religions and Philosophy, and a lecturer in the African and African Diaspora Studies program at Boston College. Funlayo is a former Junior Fellow at the Center for the Study of World Religions (2011-2012) and also serves as the founding director of the African and Diasporic Religious Studies Association (ADRSA) and Executive Director of the Orisa Community Development Corporation. Visit her at http://scholar.harvard.edu/funlayo.

Sarah J. Blake LaRose is an ordained minister with the Church of God (Anderson, IN) whose special areas of interest are biblical languages, ministry with seekers, and equipping the church to include people with special needs. Sarah is the author of two chapters in Discipleship that Transforms: An Introduction to Christian Education from a Wesleyan/Holiness Perspective, published in 2011 by Warner Press. She presented a paper with Lauren Tuchman entitled "Using Technology to Meet the Needs of Biblical Language Scholars Who Are Blind" at the annual meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in San Francisco in 2011.

Matt Helms is graduate of McCormick Theological Seminary and is currently working as a pastoral resident at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Chicago. He is an active blogger and a fan of all things writing.

Andy Cook, 24, has a longstanding interest in religion, spirituality, and civic engagement. Growing up in the Conservative Jewish tradition, Andy learned from an early age the importance of asking questions, knowing why one believes what they do, and placing importance on the work of improving our world.

I am attending St. Tikhon's Orthodox Theological Seminary in South Canaan, Pennsylvania, with the hope of becoming an Orthodox Christian Priest. I am interested in how to maintain the integrity of belief while keeping the fellowship of and dialogue with other faith backgrounds.

Bhikshuni Lozang Trinlae, B.Sc., Ed.M., (भिक्षुणी लोजाङ् त्रिन्ले) is presently a doctoral student in practical theology at Claremont School of Theology at Claremont Lincoln University, where she is conducting research in formal Vajrayāna contemplative practices. She was ordained a novice Buddhist nun in Mysore in 1991; took full-ordination Bhikshuni precepts in 1998 in Bodhgaya, India; and is also a priest in the Buddhist Vajrayāna tradition (Drukpa Kagyu and Gelug lineages primarily).

A summa-cum-laude graduate in physics, she earned her master's degree in education from Harvard University, where she also studied Tibetan language in the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies and non-profit management at the Kennedy School. She taught science and English in India and in Tibet while undertaking contemplative training in Vajrayāna Buddhism. After teaching Buddhism in Taiwan in the mid-1990's, she founded Mahāpajāpatī Hermitage in Sagarmartha Mt. Everest National Park in Nepal, where she completed ten years of cloistered, intensive, Vajrayāna retreat, including two great approaching retreats (शतलक्ष मन्त्र इष्टदेव पुरश्चरण/བསྙེན་ཆེན།). Bhikshuni Lozang is also a trained chaplain and certified instructor in relationship education.

More details of her present research, and hermitage, including texts and photo album, can be found at bhikshuni.insightdeliverysystems.com,
research.insightdeliverysystems.com, and mahaprajapativihar.insightdeliverysystems.com.

I am a PhD student in Systematic Theology at Duquesne University (Pittsburgh, PA); my BA is from Wartburg College (Waverly, IA), and MA is from Catholic Theological Union (Chicago, IL). A Roman Catholic who spent several years employed by Lutherans, my interests are in Ecumenism, Theological Anthropology, and Environmentalism.

Casey is first year Ph.D student in Homiletics and Liturgics and fellow in The Program in Theology and Practice at Vanderbilt. She is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She lives in Nashville with her husband, two cats and twenty Divinity school students at the Disciples Divinity House.

Sai Kolluru is a second-year law student at Emory University School of Law. He is an Editor for the Emory Journal of Law and Religion and a Senior Editor of the Emory Corporate Governance and Accountability Review Special Pre-Inauguration Edition. At Emory, Sai is involved with nationally-renowned chapter organizations like the International Refugee Assistance Project where he leads policy initiatives. Sai was also a former White House intern in the Office of Public Engagement for the Obama administration. He holds a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University.

Rose Aslan is a doctoral student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Religious Studies, where she specializes in Islamic Studies. She received her MA in Arab and Islamic Civilizations from the American University in Cairo and her BA in Religious Studies from the University of British Columbia.

Becky Silverstein is a 3rd year Rabbinical Student at Hebrew College. As such, she applies her love for text study, theology, and religious community towards the betterment of humanity by being a role model, educator, and organizer. She is spending the year studying in Jerusalem.

I am a Husband, Father, and Citizen. I do my best to think critically, analytically, and rationally about difficult questions of faith, justice, and truth as well as our responsibilities to one another. My scholarly endeavors can be found here: http://about.me/damien.arthur

Tiffany is a Master of Divinity student at McCormick Theological Seminary. She has a Master of Arts degree in Sociology specializing in Organizations and Institutions and Social Psychology. She founded and is the Executive Director of a non-profit Education Outreach firm, Love Learning Empowerment. She is an aspiring author and poet. You can follow her @ twitter.com/Radiant_Blossom

Ela is an ordained rabbi, a seeker of truth, fascinated with the paths to the divine in the everyday and the extraordinary. She is now in the midst of birthing a new progressive prayer group in Tel Aviv, where she lives and works.

Saumya Arya Haas, Executive Director of Headwaters/Delta Interfaith, advises local, national and international interfaith and social equity organizations including The New Orleans Healing Center. She is a Manbo Asogwe (Priestess of Vodou) and hereditary Hindu Pujarin, writes and lectures about religion, and is a part-time ALB (undergraduate) candidate in Religious Studies at Harvard University School of Extension Studies.

The Pluralism Project, founded and directed by Dr. Diana L. Eck, is a twenty-year research project on the changing religious landscape of the United States. Through an expanding network of affiliates and student researchers, we document the contours of our multi-religious society, explore new forms of interfaith engagement, study the impact of religious diversity in civic life, and contextualize these findings within a global framework.

The Congregational Resource Guide (CRG) is a project of the Alban Institute. The abundance of resources available for congregations and their leaders can be overwhelming. The CRG is constantly sifting and mining these materials for those that demonstrate a high likelihood for usefulness in congregational life. With the assistance of our affiliate organization, the Indianapolis Center for Congregations in Indiana, the staff of the Alban Institute, and our board of advisors, we strive to point leaders to those materials that can assist them in aiding their congregation's efforts to become healthy bodies of worship and agents of transformation in the communities they exist.

Sara is a student at Yale Divinity School, where she is working toward a Master of Religious Studies with a concentration in ethics. Her research interest lies broadly in the role of faith communities in religiously charged conflicts and more particularly in the conversation between American evangelical and postliberal theologies as it relates to the construction of an evangelical ethic for interreligious engagement.

Nate is currently the social justice minister and youth director at Third Lutheran Church in Louisville, KY. He is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy at the University of Kentucky. He does research and runs social media for the Ecumenical Poverty Initiative, and he blogs at: http://natewkratzer.wordpress.com/

Stephanie (Steph) is from Napier, New Zealand. She has never not lived by the sea - within spitting distance of a beach, at least - until she won a scholarship from Nottingham University and came to the UK to complete her PhD. She studied music, psychology, education and other things at Massey University down under, then after a few years mainly working in theatres, she studied World Religions at Victoria University in Wellington, NZ.

Mike, 28, is a community organizer working in Boston's underserved communities on green and environmental initiatives. He holds a Master's from Boston College in Social Ethics and is preparing applications for Islamic Studies with the aspiration of one day becoming a professor of Comparative Ethics.

A 2009 Syracuse University Alumna, Nikole is currently serving an AmeriCorps term with New Sector Alliance, Inc. as a Resident in Social Enterprise. Her interfaith work is focused on fostering religious pluralism through simultaneous efforts of common action, policy engagement, liberation theology and hermeneutics of social justice.

Elizabeth is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree from Yale Divinity School. Although she recently converted to Judaism, she comes from an ecumenical background; she was raised in the Presbyterian Church (USA), attended a Catholic high school, and graduated from a Baptist college, where she took interest in interfaith dialogue, gender studies, and equality advocacy.

Neil Krishan Aggarwal is a research psychiatrist at Columbia University. He graduated with a master's degree in South Asian religions and anthropology from Harvard University. Formerly Hindu Chaplain at Yale University while completing his psychiatric training, he is interested in cultural psychiatry, psychiatric anthropology, and global mental health among South Asians. His research is on developing psychotherapeutic styles from Hinduism, Sikhism, and South Asian Islam and the meanings of redemption/healing in these traditions.

A third-generation Sikh American, Valarie is an award-winning filmmaker, writer, and advocate who speaks out on race, religion, gender, and power in America. You can read more about her work here: www.valariekaur.com/blog

Seth Wax is a third-year student at Hebrew College Rabbinical School in Newton, MA. He attended Harvard Divinity School and completed a degree in Buddhist Studies and is currently studying in Jerusalem.

Oliver Goodrich, 31, is currently pursuing an MEd in Religious Education at Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry. Prior to his studies at BC, Oliver worked for a decade in music ministry and college student development in the Boston area.

Jennifer Sanborn is a proud mother and spouse, accomplished director of the Women's Education and Leadership Fund at the University of Hartford, student of spirituality at Hartford Seminary, and emerging voice in interfaith curiosity, questioning, and understanding.

Bilal Hassam is a trainee Doctor at the University of Nottingham concurrently studying a Masters in Inter-Religious Relations at De Montfort University, Leicester. He spent a year as a Faiths Act Fellow for the Tony Blair Faith Foundation and the Interfaith Youth Core (Chicago) serving as an Inter-Religious Ambassador for the UN Millennium Development Goals; mobilising faith communities to work together in the fight against global poverty. He continues to be involved in a plethora of charitable and community organisations and initiatives across the UK and Europe and can be followed at twitter.com/bilalhassam

Rachel Heath is currently completing her graduate studies at Yale Divinity School. While living in New Haven, she has been both a community organizer for public housing residents and an interfaith chaplain at a local hospital. In between cups of hazelnut coffee she works as an intern for the Yale Chaplain's Office and focuses on the positive convergence of interfaith dialogue and community service.

Allana Taylor holds Bachelor's degrees in Anthropology and Religions Studies from the University of Oklahoma and completed her Master's coursework at the University of Chicago in 2012. She served as the communications intern for the Council for a Parliament of the World's religions from 2010-2011 and was among the first Contributing Scholars recruited to write for State of Formation in 2010.
From 2011-2012 she served on State of Formation's Executive Committee and in 2011 was one of the first members of the Young Leader's Council for the Women of Spirit and Faith. In 2012 she participated in the annual session of the Middle Prairie Institute for Religion and Public Life, a non-partisan think tank devoted to questions of religion and civic life. Her academic interests include Islamic legal theory, the intersection of law and culture, as well as questions of institutional justice versus morality. She identifies as an atheist and is proud to be among a growing number of atheists who believe that theists and non-theists must come together to answer the questions that continue to perplex us. She is currently an Emeritus Scholar for State of Formation, but continues to be engaged in the important conversations that take place here.

Originally from Tennessee, once a sojourner in Latin America and then California, now a CIRCLE fellow and MDiv student at Andover Newton Theological School in Newton, Massachusetts, with concentrations in Hebrew Bible, the Ancient Near East, and Interfaith Studies.

Ph.D. student of American Religious Cultures in the Graduate Division of Religion at Emory University. Specialization in American religious history and Asian religions in America. Twitter: @MichaelJAltman.

Self-identified as a Christian Agnostic and QueerMestizo (of Mexican & Anglo heritage), Robyn is a Ph.D Student at the University of Denver/Iliff School of Theology, Denver, CO focussing on Social Ethics with an primary interest in ethics in the US Borderlands. Robyn uses queer theories, Critical Chican@ Studies, and queer epistemologies to consider Ethics.

Tim received his MA in International Studies from the University of Denver in 2009. He is an inaugural alumnus of the Faiths Act Fellowship, a program of the Interfaith Youth Core and Tony Blair Faith Foundation. Tim is currently the Communications Manager for Islamic Networks Group.

Greg DuBow grew up in Atlanta, where he attended the Northwest Unitarian Universalist Congregation until he left for college. Greg went to Antioch College in Yellow Springs Ohio where he got a philosophy degree, focusing on existential phenomenology. He is in process for a Master of Divinity at Meadville Lombard Theological School and is finishing his last year as a Meadville student at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tallahassee as their first ever intern minister. He has worked as a graphic designer, wolf rancher, and a hospital chaplain. He enjoys gardening, riding and working on bicycles, and has just started studying Kung Fu

Celie Katovitch, 22, is a first year Master of Divinity Student at Harvard Divinity School, where she is preparing for ordination as a parish minister in the Unitarian Universalist tradition. She is originally from Syracuse, New York.

Lee is an MDiv candidate at Harvard Divinity School, preparing for ordination as a Unitarian Universalist (UU) minister. She spent the last five years doing community-based youth development and health action work in Washington, DC, and has a BA in psychology and women’s studies from Swarthmore College.

Brandon is a PhD candidate in Religion and Culture at Catholic University in Washington, DC and is interested in improving inter and intra religious dialogue, particularly among the many branches of Christianity. (Twitter account: @turnerbrandon)

Anthony Fatta, 23, is currently a 2nd year Master of Divinity candidate at Vanderbilt Divinity School in Nashville, TN and a member of the United Methodist Church. Academic/Vocational interests include: theologies of religious pluralism, comparative theology, interfaith marriage/families and pastoral care, Jewish-Christian relations and congregational ministry in a religiously diverse world.